DESCRIPTION: (verbatim) We plan to design, develop, and produce an economic oxygen carrying plasma expander based on modified molecular human hemoglobin engineered with properties that insure the maintenance of microvascular function, leading to improved survival and tissue oxygenation relative to blood, for treatment of trauma victims within 48 hours of injury. The program is vertically integrated, including production of purified hemoglobin from red blood cells by means of a modified, self contained plasma fractionation centrifuge ~at directly produces the necessary molecular modifications and a unit of artificial blood ready for use. This approach eliminates the need for fabrication of large, clean facilities and reduces cost. Furthermore it allows for production in remote areas. Our bioengineering design principle is that when a blood replacement fluid is introduced in the circulation it should cause the resulting blood viscosity to remain sufficiently elevated to insure the adequate generation of shear stress at the-blood/tissue interface, which we have demonstrated to be necessary to provide normal capillary blood flow the key -determinant of tissue survival. According to this principle even small amounts of cell-free hemoglobin (l-2 g/dl) are very effective in improving survival after hemorrhage. Due to this low-dose effect at least two units of product can be obtained from each unit of collected normal blood. The molecular modification to be pursued is surface modification with polyethylene glycol (PEG), and other modifications that will result in molecules with large radius. Different formulations of product are envisioned including a low volume concentrated solution that will restore blood volume by autotransfusion. The program encompasses all aspects of artificial blood production from obtaining the raw materials to the final commercial product and is aimed at; establishing a blood transfusion technology that delivers a-blood replacement biomaterial that is cost effective and as efficacious as blood. The envisioned artificial blood will be universal, requiring no typing, will have long shelf life and will be easy to store.